Tests show West Nile in area

By Lindsay Peyton

Published
12:07 pm CDT, Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Paul Culbertson, of the Montgomery County Pct. 3 Commissioners Office, sprays a storm drain to fight mosquitoes in The Woodlands. Recent testing in south Montgomery County revealed the presence of West Nile virus. less

Paul Culbertson, of the Montgomery County Pct. 3 Commissioners Office, sprays a storm drain to fight mosquitoes in The Woodlands. Recent testing in south Montgomery County revealed the presence of West Nile ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer

Photo: Brett Coomer

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Paul Culbertson, of the Montgomery County Pct. 3 Commissioners Office, sprays a storm drain to fight mosquitoes in The Woodlands. Recent testing in south Montgomery County revealed the presence of West Nile virus. less

Paul Culbertson, of the Montgomery County Pct. 3 Commissioners Office, sprays a storm drain to fight mosquitoes in The Woodlands. Recent testing in south Montgomery County revealed the presence of West Nile ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer

Tests show West Nile in area

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Mosquito season is barely under way and already samples of the pesky insects have tested positive for West Nile Virus in south Montgomery County.

Lynne Aldrich, manager of environmental services for The Woodlands Township, said tests usually do not come back positive at this time of year. "We've never had positive mosquito samples this early," she said.

Aldrich said the culex quinquefasciatus mosquito, which she refers to as quinks, is the species that commonly carries the virus. The common name for the insect is the southern house mosquito.

Aldrich explained that the warm winter might have contributed to the earlier start of mosquito season. "We didn't have much of a winter and now it's coming up earlier."

Aldrich continued to trap mosquitoes during the winter, but the last sample that came back positive for West Nile was in November.

Harris County has already reported five positive samples for the virus.

"If the winter isn't too hard, there will be a greater number of mosquitoes around to reproduce," he said. "The other part of the story is that the virus in amplifying in the bird population."

With more mosquitoes and more virus, the likelihood of the two intersecting increases, Bueno said. He explained that the situation will be worse if the weather stays dry. "It's more likely that the birds and mosquitoes will interact at their watering source," he said.

Aldrich said that dry weather can also foster quink populations. While the insect needs water to reproduce, small pools are enough to become breeding grounds, she explained. Stagnant water breeders can thrive in drier conditions.

Quinks are included in this equation, Bueno said. "This particular mosquito can thrive in drought conditions. Very stagnant and very dirty water are not attractive to a lot of mosquitoes, but this type of mosquito loves it," he said.

Taking Action

No reports of human illness in Montgomery County have been filed with the Texas Department of State Health Services, but The Woodlands Township and Montgomery County Mosquito Abatement team have started taking action.

Standing water will be treated with larvicide, and selected storm drains will be sprayed, Aldrich said.

The Township will also engage in more active surveillance of its mosquito populations.

Aldrich said residents can help the effort by paying attention to their watering practices. She said if water runs off into storm drains, it can puddle, especially when people dump yard clippings and waste into the drains creating a blockage.

She recommends adjusting auto-sprinklers to insure that water is not running down driveways and over curbs. She also suggests watering less frequently and more deeply and using compost to help soil retain water. She said people should change the water in birdbaths twice a week.

Aldrich said residents should be vigilant in searching for stagnant water, including in their water meter boxes and irrigation boxes. "They almost always become a breeding site," she said.

Aldrich encourages residents to report stagnant water in public places, like puddles that last more than a few days or pools that are not regularly maintained.

Aldrich said sometimes people cannot feel a quink bite. She explained that people may not be as aware of the mosquito problem, because the quinks are less aggressive biters than the Aedes albopictus, or Asian tiger mosquitoes.

Worse than their bite

"People think they're not around," Aldrich said. "They prefer biting birds, but when they get into our houses and there are no birds, that's the problem."

Chris Van Deusen, spokesman for the Texas Department of State Health Services, said prevention is the best cure. "Keep yourself from being bitten; that's the best way to avoid the virus," he said.

Aldrich encourages people to wear repellant. She said the CDC released some statistics that show that 75 percent of human cases of West Nile virus affected people who never wore repellent. "Take that responsibility," she said.

She also recommends staying indoors at dusk and dawn when the mosquitoes are most active. She said residents should wear long-sleeves and pants, loose, light-colored clothing.

Too early to tell

Van Deusen said last year his department counted 20 cases of humans contracting the West Nile neuroinvasive disease, the more severe form of the infection. Symptoms include stiff neck, visual problems, body tremors, mental confusion, drowsiness and memory loss.

There were seven confirmed cases of humans with West Nile fever, the less serious infection. Symptoms include fever, headache and muscle and bone aches.

"Last year was a quiet year as far as human cases," he said. "We could see an increase or it could continue to drop off. It's a complicated calculus. We'll have to wait and see what happens."

Bueno said Harris County can offer a better prediction for the season in early July. "It's hard to make any prediction of what the season will be like now," he said.